Almost everyone I know, including myself, has a Facebook account. It's interesting how it came along and basically swept MSN Messenger off the board. My friends and I used to use MSN Messenger all the time and then once Facebook came around, no one chats via MSN messenger anymore; it's all Facebook. MySpace also seemed to disappear off the radar once Facebook came around as well. It's so interesting that social media is fairly new to society and yet, the expiration date on certain ways of communication over the internet can be short-lived.
I often go on Facebook to see what everyone else is up to and to post updates and pictures I feel are important in my life and to chat with people. It's also a great way to see what people you may not have talked to for a while have been up to. Now I'll admit, all the friends that I have on my friends list, I do not talk with. But they are all people who I have come in contact with at some point in my life and it's interesting to have them available, even though I may not talk with them.
I think Facebook is also a great way to reach people. Especially at this time in my life when people are getting married, creating a wedding social event page or even a birthday event page can reach many people that you otherwise may not have been able to reach without the internet.
My friends also use Facebook a similar way. They use it as a social medium to connect and chat with friends and family. It can also be a great tool to connect with people you have lost touch with. I have a friend who actually reconnected with two family members she had lost touch with over the years and they have rebuilt their relationship, which I think is an amazing thing and all thanks to Facebook. Most of my friends keep limited profiles so not everyone can see their profile. This is not so that they can post inappropriate content, but as a safety precaution. Facebook is still used via internet where many sketchy people can be lurking. I myself keep a limited profile to protect myself because you never know what people are capable of doing. I also understand that everything on the internet is public and nothing is ever really safe. But it is safer to have a limited profile than to have one that everyone in the world can see. I only add people that I know as my "friends". Again, the security issue arises, why would I add someone that can see everything about me if I do not know them. And that has happened before where people have requested to be my "friend", but I had no idea who they were, it makes me wonder why they chose me as a "friend".
I think that Facebook is a great tool to use strategically. It has great potential to offer two-way communication by the use of chat, wall postings, messaging, event pages, and group pages. It allows people to feel connected to a particular group or person and can interact when it suits them best.
Twitter is a completely different story than Facebook. I actually just signed up for Twitter this past year because we had to in PR class. I never really thought twice about it before and never really understood it. Even now that I am part of the twitterverse, I still don't use it really. I sometimes log onto my account to see what everyone else is saying, but other than that I don't really update. On a personal level, I don't really see the advantages to Twitter for myself. I would much rather use Facebook where I feel more connected to people.
All of my non-CreComm friends do not use Twitter. I don't think they have ever really looked into it, or never gave it a second thought. My friends are content with just using Facebook and don't find a need to have two communication tools going at once.
From a strategic point of view, I can definitely see how Twitter can help. If your business has a Twitter account, you can use it to your advantage. You can tweet anything that you feel is important that you want people to know. If offers an extra option to get the word out and reach people who are tapped into this form of social media.
The Results?
All in all, Twitter and Facebook are both social media, yet are used in very different ways. From a strategic point of view, I wouldn't say one is better than the other. I would say that they both have their advantages based on the results you are trying to achieve.
On a personal level, I would say it's a matter of choice. Some people use one, both, or none at all. No matter what category you fall into, the evolution of social media will continue to evolve as long as people stay logged in, which doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Good post! I like the blog layout too.
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